View Full Version : Who fancies looking over my CV?
I am not having much luck with any of the jobs I am applying for, they are all basic jobs such as admin or jobs where they train you up from no experience. If there are any employers or people in the know that could look over mine that would be great as I am slowly going mad sitting at home most days of the week with little money!
Cheers,
Ash.
gruntygiggles
15-09-09, 11:53 AM
PM me and I'll send you my email address. I don't do it anymore, but used to be an exec search agent and would read hundreds of CV's a week.
There are so many things in CV's that may seem perfectly normal and good to be in a CV that can put people off, so go ahead and PM me and I'll take a look over it for you.
Cheryl x
im not an employer or have any official title but I can look over your cv if you want. Have been doing my own CV for past 25 years with no problems. Always get interviews, just dont get the job sometimes
I just cant find jobs that my CV is sutible for...so then, it means i cant find jobs that i am sutible for!
I just cant find jobs that my CV is sutible for...so then, it means i cant find jobs that i am sutible for!
Maybe it's because you can't spell 'suitable':confused:;)
Speedy Claire
15-09-09, 06:12 PM
Maybe it's because you can't spell 'suitable':confused:;)
:winner:
Speedy Claire
15-09-09, 06:14 PM
I am not having much luck with any of the jobs I am applying for, they are all basic jobs such as admin or jobs where they train you up from no experience. If there are any employers or people in the know that could look over mine that would be great as I am slowly going mad sitting at home most days of the week with little money!
Cheers,
Ash.
One tip is to keep the CV brief... put as much relevant info in as possible but you have to keep it short. Think of the person at the other end having to read countless CV`s. Try and do something to make yours stand out a bit better too. I tend to put a nice border around the CV`s I type for people... is only something small but makes it stand out.
If you want another opinion or somebody to type it up and present it in the required format for you then pm me and I`ll let you have my email addy.
...and make it interesting. I have a team of 10 and I get unsolicited CVs pretty well every day. Most are based on the standard CV that comes with Word and tell me what great A levels they have. B-O-R-I-N-G. Personally I like to see interests as it gives me an idea of what sort of person they are, most put 'socialising, cinema, theatre' - well don't we all like going to the cinema, but what makes this person different??? - very few put 'motorbikes' and if I see it it immediately jumps out, but then some might think 'thug' and put yours in the bin.
gruntygiggles
15-09-09, 10:48 PM
...and make it interesting. I have a team of 10 and I get unsolicited CVs pretty well every day. Most are based on the standard CV that comes with Word and tell me what great A levels they have. B-O-R-I-N-G. Personally I like to see interests as it gives me an idea of what sort of person they are, most put 'socialising, cinema, theatre' - well don't we all like going to the cinema, but what makes this person different??? - very few put 'motorbikes' and if I see it it immediately jumps out, but then some might think 'thug' and put yours in the bin.
Couldn't agree more. I've looked at arcdefs Cv and given that it was his first......a solid attempt.
Most CV's, especially from younger candidates concentrate on exam results and are very formatted along the microsoft word lines. The problem with these CVs are that they do not stand out. I re-structured the format of the CV and put all the font in the same style and size with the exception of the headers. There's nothing worse than looking at a CV in which one paragraph is in Ariel and the next in Times New Roman.
I always advise education and skills should come second and third to actual experience. Be that work experience or if you're a school leaver, life experience, but it allows the recruiter to understand a bit about what you can bring to the role.
As far as interests go, it's very important to be truthful and go beyond the usual crap. Arcdef did mention his love of bikes and also mentioned that he loves to take them apart and put them back together again.
As a recruiter, I would read that and see him as someone who has the ability to stick with something and a desire to gain knowledge and learn about what he is doing. Some traits that would most definately make me see worth in him!
Well done Ash and good luck with sending your new CV out!
...don't forget to say that you look like Prince Harry:D
Maybe it's because you can't spell 'suitable':confused:;)
:lol: I cant spell a lot of things, but the CV is spell checked 100% :)
...and make it interesting. I have a team of 10 and I get unsolicited CVs pretty well every day. Most are based on the standard CV that comes with Word and tell me what great A levels they have. B-O-R-I-N-G. Personally I like to see interests as it gives me an idea of what sort of person they are, most put 'socialising, cinema, theatre' - well don't we all like going to the cinema, but what makes this person different??? - very few put 'motorbikes' and if I see it it immediately jumps out, but then some might think 'thug' and put yours in the bin.
Myne wos like that wen eye stared out init!
I was told to take motorbikes off. My old Cv was 3 pages and rambled on and on. My firend who is pretty good at the onld english language helped me out and its now much shorter. Deciding on a layout was the difficult bit, you read a book that says 'do it this way' then another that contradicts it. Lots of white space is all that did keep coming up, so choose your font, and layout carefully. I find/found that doing your CV is the most difficult thing ever, it shouldn't be as its only about you and what you have done, buts it's thinking about how to put it conciesley (Sp?)
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 10:40 AM
:lol: I cant spell a lot of things, but the CV is spell checked 100% :)
Myne wos like that wen eye stared out init!
I was told to take motorbikes off. My old Cv was 3 pages and rambled on and on. My firend who is pretty good at the onld english language helped me out and its now much shorter. Deciding on a layout was the difficult bit, you read a book that says 'do it this way' then another that contradicts it. Lots of white space is all that did keep coming up, so choose your font, and layout carefully. I find/found that doing your CV is the most difficult thing ever, it shouldn't be as its only about you and what you have done, buts it's thinking about how to put it conciesley (Sp?)
White space is good in a CV in the right way. In 2005, my old business partner and I sent out a questionnaire to over 2000 employers, covering all businesses from Blue Chip multinationals to SME's and cottage industry set ups. The most predominant result was that everyone wanted to see the same things.
A clearly defined header containing name, address and contact details. Most wanted date of birth as well.
A consistent structure throughout the CV to make reading easier. So, choose your font style and size and stick to it. If you are going to use bullet points, use them throughout the CV rather than have bullet points under one heading and stars under another.
Make the Headings, underlines, bold type, font size etc the same for each section.
As far as mentioning motorbikes is concerned, it depends on your age. If you are more mature and have 5+ years of work experience on your CV, you can just mention it as being a way for you to unwind in your spare time. If you are younger, I would advise that you mention it, but in a way that will enhance your profile to the recruiter.
Bad example:
I have a motorbike which I love riding on the weekends and spend a lot of my time cleaning. I enjoy being able to get out and explore new roads with friends and feel the freedom that it can give me.
Good example:
I am a keen motorcyclist and find great satisfaction in exploring new roads and expanding my riding skills. I think that it's important to understand how things work and are maintained and so I always do my own servicing on the bike and am constantly looking at ways in which I can improve through taking riding courses, safety courses and training.
The latter shows a level of responsibility that the first example lacks. In a yound candidate, this can make you stand out from the crowd in a positive way. The first example just makes you sound like you go for a blast every weekend.
Luckypants
16-09-09, 10:55 AM
A clearly defined header containing name, address and contact details. Most wanted date of birth as well.
Why does this need to be in the header? It is taking up unnecessary space on my front page. The front page is what grabs the employers attention and makes them think bin / further investigation. If they need to contact me, it's because they have read my CV and want to take things further. This means they will have read up to page three where my contact details are or they are probably intelligent enough to look on the covering letter.... :rolleyes:
I don't get the need for contact details to be the first thing a prospective employer sees.
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 11:08 AM
Why does this need to be in the header? It is taking up unnecessary space on my front page. The front page is what grabs the employers attention and makes them think bin / further investigation. If they need to contact me, it's because they have read my CV and want to take things further. This means they will have read up to page three where my contact details are or they are probably intelligent enough to look on the covering letter.... :rolleyes:
I don't get the need for contact details to be the first thing a prospective employer sees.
So that when they want to call you, they just grab your CV and there it is, rather than having to look for it. I used to put my contact details as the very last thing on my CV until we did this study.
I totally get your point about not wanting it to take up space though. I have mine like this:-
Cheryl Bray
My Street, My Little Village, My area, My County, My Postcode
Telephone: 00000 123456 Mobile: 07000 123456 Email: myname@hotmail.com
__________________________________________________ _____________
then on with the CV. It looks a little different on my actual CV, but I've just done that quickly without taking care over it.
If I remember correctly, it was well under 10% of the 2000 surveys we had back that didn't choose having this info in the header. To me, that means I advise people to do it. Same with using bullet points to show your responsibilities and achievements in each role instead of using text. Employers want to be able to easily refer to things in your CV when they are interviewing you and that can be difficult when they have to trawl through paragraph after paragraph.
It's all little things though. If your spelling and grammar are correct, you have a tidy CV and your skills and experience match the job role, people won't mind looking for your contact details. I just like to make it as easy as possible for the recruiter to find the information they need as it saves them valuable time.
custard
16-09-09, 11:09 AM
on the bottom of mine i just have
interests - avid motorcyclist.
i think this got me the job :)
turns out my future boss has just bought JTs car and we spent half the interview talking about GP racing...
:winner:
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 11:12 AM
Also Mike.........if people are using agencies, cover letters ofen don't go very far and are very rarely passed on to the actual employer. I always write cover letters, but when applying on websites like Monster, the cover letters are not always picked up or bothered with, especially by agents, so it's a good idea to keep the contact details on your CV.
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 11:14 AM
on the bottom of mine i just have
interests - avid motorcyclist.
i think this got me the job :)
turns out my future boss has just bought JTs car and we spent half the interview talking about GP racing...
:winner:
Yeah, I think it's important to put everything that you are genuinely interested in (except, "I am a swinger/like to wear a nappy and be spanked)lol. You never know what your interviewer will be interested in, so if you put down all of yours, you increase the chance of finding a common interest.
I have always wanted to put
Month/Year - Month/Year - Worked for Government
Resposibilites - Classified!
Obviously witht he correct spellling ;)
Luckypants
16-09-09, 11:21 AM
If I remember correctly, it was well under 10% of the 2000 surveys we had back that didn't choose having this info in the header. To me, that means I advise people to do it. Same with using bullet points to show your responsibilities and achievements in each role instead of using text. Employers want to be able to easily refer to things in your CV when they are interviewing you and that can be difficult when they have to trawl through paragraph after paragraph.
It's all little things though. If your spelling and grammar are correct, you have a tidy CV and your skills and experience match the job role, people won't mind looking for your contact details. I just like to make it as easy as possible for the recruiter to find the information they need as it saves them valuable time.
Point taken Cheryl, but to me that smacks of folks not thinking about what they want but what they expect to be there. I was advised by a CV 'doctor' during an outplacement exercise not to waste my 'one page advert' space by stating non-essential information such as name and address. I'll certainly be bearing in mind what you said in future though and if I feel I have space I'll include my address in the header.
Good thread this, reminds me I have not updated my CV for ages and my latest job role needs to be added, plus all my new skills.
Luckypants
16-09-09, 11:23 AM
Also Mike.........if people are using agencies, cover letters ofen don't go very far and are very rarely passed on to the actual employer. I always write cover letters, but when applying on websites like Monster, the cover letters are not always picked up or bothered with, especially by agents, so it's a good idea to keep the contact details on your CV.
Agents / monster get a very different CV. :)
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 11:35 AM
Point taken Cheryl, but to me that smacks of folks not thinking about what they want but what they expect to be there. I was advised by a CV 'doctor' during an outplacement exercise not to waste my 'one page advert' space by stating non-essential information such as name and address. I'll certainly be bearing in mind what you said in future though and if I feel I have space I'll include my address in the header.
Good thread this, reminds me I have not updated my CV for ages and my latest job role needs to be added, plus all my new skills.
Yeah, You have to keep the header short and you have to have your name at the top so that it can be found easily. My header is just that, a header. I don't just write it where the cursor lies when you open word, I extend the page so that it is literally right at the top, then the normal page layout is dedicated to CV info.
You need a very different CV for an executive position, highly technical position or board position than you do for an admin or customer servoice type position. The parametres change depending on not just the position you are applying for, but also the people in the organisation that will be interviewing you.
I went for an interview last weekand spent two weeks preparing and researching, not just the role, the company, it's competitors and the current market, but also the VP that was interviewng me. I knew more about his career going into the interview than he knew about mine, so was able to tailor the answers to his questions in a way that I knew would strike a chord with him.
CV doctors are great......just be careful as there are many that are too one dimensional. Sounds like you got good advice Mike! :-)
Well I got a phone call this morning about a job, but turned out i need a valid passport. I've just ordered one to be delivered within a week but when calling the agency back they have no record of calling me!!! The job sounded really good as well so just hope they figure it out :(
Oh and thanks for all the advice guys, its really helped especially ms gruntygiggles, really knows her stuff!
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 11:55 AM
Well I got a phone call this morning about a job, but turned out i need a valid passport. I've just ordered one to be delivered within a week but when calling the agency back they have no record of calling me!!! The job sounded really good as well so just hope they figure it out :(
Oh and thanks for all the advice guys, its really helped especially ms gruntygiggles, really knows her stuff!
Sounds great about the job Ash. Give them a day or two and chase them up!
There are loads of peeps on here that know probably more than me, but glad I could help.
Good luck!
im not an employer or have any official title but I can look over your cv if you want. Have been doing my own CV for past 25 years with no problems. Always get interviews, just dont get the job sometimes
i'll send you mine if you don't mind KK?
Owenski
16-09-09, 12:21 PM
+1 to the layout,
every job I've sent my CV in for I've been offered an interview, compeared to most people the context of mine must be terrible but its looks really pretty so i get a call :D
I have always wanted to put
Month/Year - Month/Year - Worked for Government
Resposibilites - Classified!
Obviously witht he correct spellling ;):p class............
i think that would get you the job, just so they could try to find out what you did
Speedy Claire
16-09-09, 04:19 PM
I type CV`s for people so have to keep up to date on the layout and what employers are currently looking for. The last update I did in early 2009 recommends putting your contact details on the first page as a centred heading. Use the same font but the name can be in a larger or bold font. The heading should include your name, address, contact phone numbers both mobile and home plus your email address. Date of birth should be put lower down the first page.
The purpose of this is so that prospective employers have the relevant info to hand without having to search thru pages and pages. Your personal profile outlining your skills should also be on the first page as this is what an employer will look for first.
An example of the heading would be ..............
CLAIRE MACFARLANE
14 Anonymous Road, Liverpool, L23 5JJ
Tel: 888888888
Mob: 888888888
clairemacfarlane@internetthingymygig
Luckypants
16-09-09, 04:24 PM
Date of birth should be put lower down the first page.
The purpose of this is so that prospective employers have the relevant info to hand without having to search thru pages and pages.
Again why??? Taking up valuable 'one page advert' space without adding any value. Age has ABSOLUTELY no bearing on someone's ability to do a job, there's even a law that says so. :cool:
Speedy Claire
16-09-09, 04:36 PM
Again why??? Taking up valuable 'one page advert' space without adding any value. Age has ABSOLUTELY no bearing on someone's ability to do a job, there's even a law that says so. :cool:
Sorry, I should have said d.o.b. goes on first page if your are including it. Nope, there is no legal requirement to put your age on a C.V. and prospective employers are not allowed to ask questions regarding your age but hiding the number in the CV or leaving it off completely isn't going to change anything. Most employers can work out your age anyway from your CV.
It is "recommended" you provide your age or date of birth as you want this CV to be read... there are employers that might (and I`m not saying it`s right) discard it if they don`t see an age on there. As I said it is recommended but not vital
gruntygiggles
16-09-09, 05:21 PM
Again why??? Taking up valuable 'one page advert' space without adding any value. Age has ABSOLUTELY no bearing on someone's ability to do a job, there's even a law that says so. :cool:
Yeah, what Claire has said just backs up what my study found. Employers want that informations readily to hand, so no point getting off on a bad foot by making them wade through to find yours when everyone else has made it clear to see.
I showed you how I do mine though and it only takes up minimal space and is a header as opposed to a heading, so I do not lose valuable space on page 1.
Speedy Claire
16-09-09, 05:48 PM
Yep if you`re worried about space then as Cheryl suggests those details can be put in the header space as opposed to being a heading and taking up room.
You should have 7 lines of space in the header box area so there`s plenty of room for it to fit in there.
would someone please be able to look over my CV for me too? i was in work today to find out i'm being made redundant and i was home by lunch time! on a complete downer, but trying to make the best of a bad situation by getting a new job as quick as possible and trying to maximise the payout i just got!
would someone please be able to look over my CV for me too? i was in work today to find out i'm being made redundant and i was home by lunch time! on a complete downer, but trying to make the best of a bad situation by getting a new job as quick as possible and trying to maximise the payout i just got!
Rough one matey!
I see a couple of hundred cv's a year, and have been interviewing etc for the last 8 years. PM it if you want and i'll happily go thro' it.
Good luck
gruntygiggles
17-09-09, 06:15 PM
Rough one matey!
I see a couple of hundred cv's a year, and have been interviewing etc for the last 8 years. PM it if you want and i'll happily go thro' it.
Good luck
Yeah, +1. Used to be an Exec search agent that also oversaw an RPO department so CV's, interviewing and candidate screening etc used to be my bread and butter. Feel free to PM me too if you want.
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